George herbert condict



N0. 622,606. Pafnied Apr. 4, l899.

G. H. CONDICT. CUNTACT FOR GIIITROLLERS.4

(Appximinn med nb. 7, '1899.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

lrFORGE HERBERT CONDICT, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

CONTACT FOR CONTROLLERS..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 622,606, dated April 4, 1899.

Application led February 7, 1899. Serial No. 704,839. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE HERBERT CON- Diona citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of the city of New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Contacts for Controllers, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to improvements in contact devices or ngers which connect the contact-bars of a controller or rotary switch with the various circuits controlled thereby.

The invention consists in a new and improved construction of said iingers, whereby certain practical beneiits are secured, as will be more fully set lforth in the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing a controller-cylinder and a portion of the contact- Iingers in operative relation thereto. Fig. 2 is a transverse section upon the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the contact-fingers, and Fig. 4 is a front elevation showing one set of contact-iingers with one of the springs removed.

In said drawings, 1 is the controller-cylinder, which is provided with contact blocks or bars 2 3 i 5, arranged to producethe desired circuit changes.

G 6 are disks of insulating material attached to the controller -cylinder, so as to leave spaces between them in which the contactngers are arranged, each set of contact-nngers being separated from the other by the intervening insulating-disk. y

7 is a lever attached to the axis of the cylinder 1 and by which it can be rotated.

A bar of wood or other suitable insulating material is secured parallel with and near to 'the controller-cylinder, and the sets of contactdingers are attached -to this bar, projecting therefrom into engagement with the contact-barsV of the controller. The contact-fingers 9 are small metallic bell-crank-shaped levers, the downwardly-turned outer ends 10 of which having contact-surfaces 11. These contact-lingers 9 are mounted or hinged on pins V13 in pairs in a metallic bracket 14, which 'is .formed with notches 15 at its lower part to removably contain the pin 13, supporting the contact-iin gers. The back part of the bracket is formed with a shoulder 16 to facilitate its attachment to the common bar 8, and the upy multiple binding-post having, where a singleA pair of iingers are used in each bracket, places for three conductors, provided with bindingscrews 17 18 19. The upper part of the bracket 14 is joined by a cross-piece 20, which may be of insulating material, as in Fig. 2, to which springs 21 22 may be attached in any suitable or convenient manner, as by passing through holes therein, as indicated. Said springs may, however, be secured to a pin 28, removably held in notches 29, as indicated in Fig. 3.

At about the lower middleportion of the contact-nngers a piece of insulating material 23 is inserted in position to form the bearing for spring 21, which presses the nn ger against the contact-bars Aof the controller-cylinder. The contact-bars of the controller-cylinder are desirably elevated from the surface thereof, and in order to limit the downward movement of the contact-iinger, so as to prevent it from dropping down between the said bars as the controller is rotated,fthe inner end 12 of the contact-finger 9 is arranged with relation to the cross-bar 2O of the supportingbracket so that when the contact-finger is in engagement with the contact-bar on the controller-cylinder it will have entire freedom of movement, but in passing from one bar to another the said upper end 12 will engage the stop 20 and hold the contact-ngers in desired position to engage the next bar without dropping down between them.

In order to prevent heating or burning of the contact-iingcrs and their supporting-pins by the passage of heavy currents therethrough, I provide each contact-nger with a separate conductor 24, one end of which is secured in a binding-post 25, near the outer end thereof, its other end being clamped into the common binding-post 26, to which the conductor 2-7, connected with the circuit, is

valso attached.

scribed, since by so doing nniformityof re- IOO sult is secured and trouble from weakened springs dueto their being heated bythe passing current is done away with.

The contact-fingers 0 are readily detached from their sustaining-bracket for renewal or examination, all that is necessary being to release the conductor 2l from the bindingpost 25, carried thereby, to then lift the spring 2l from off the insulator 23, when the contact-fingers are lifted out of the notches l5 in the bracket ll, together with the pin 13.

The contact-fingers are made alike, and l prefer to use two or more for each circuit connection 2, so that in case of one being damaged the circuit would be maintained through the other. It will also be apparent that in case of injury the ingers can be replaced with great facility. Each bracket, as shown, contains'one pair of lingers, operating between a pair of insulating-disks 6. More or fewer of the fingers may, however, be arranged in the form of a set or unit, as desired, without departing from the invention.

Having described my invention, what l claim isl. The combination with a rotatable cylinder, of a metallic bracket secured in operative relation thereto, and provided with a plurality of separately spring-pressed contact-ngers detachably pivoted within the bracket, and adapted to engage the said cylinder, andan independent electrical connection from the outer portion of each of the contact-iingers to the working circuit.

2. The combination with the controllercylinder, of a pair of independentlyv springv pressed contact-fingers pivotally supported in a stationary bracket, said bracket being provided with a suitable binding-post, and conductors extending separately from the outer end of each of the contact-fingers to the binding-post of the bracket.

3. rlhe combination with a rotatable controller-cylinder, of a metallic bracket secured in operative relation thereto, a plurality of separately spring-pressed contact-lingers pivoted within the bracket and adapted to engage the controller-cylinder, an independent electrical connection from the outer portion of each of the contact-fingers to the working eireuit,a tension-spring secured to the bracket and engaging the outer end portion of the contact-finger, and an insulating-support secured to the contact-finger for receiving the free end of the spring.

(l. The combination with the controller-cylinder and raised contact-bars thereon, of a stationary bracket and an insulating-support therefor parallel with the controller, a dctachable spring-pressed hinged contact-finger adapted to engage the contact-strips of the cylinder, a stop adapted to be engaged by a portion of the finger to limit its downward movement and an independent electrical connection between the outer portion of the contact-finger and the circuit to be connected.

Signed by me, at New York, N. Y., this 3d day of February, 1899.

GEORGE 'HERBERT CONDIGT. lVitne'sses:

FRED. Vinwnc, S. G. HYATT. 

